Student Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
Spring 5-21-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
B.B.A. with honors
Honors Designation
yes
Program of Study
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Language
English
First Advisor
Zhiqing Zhou
Abstract
COVID-19 has brought dramatic changes to how organizations operate and employees behave, prompting both parties to engage in additional efforts and cope with these stark adjustments. Organizations, for example, might engage in more COVID-specific corporate social responsibility (CSR), while employees might engage in more COVID-related organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). However, it is unclear whether and how employees’ COVID-related OCBs can be triggered by their organizations’ COVID-specific CSR. Building on existing research on the relationship between CSR and OCBs, this study examined the effects of internal and external COVID-specific CSR on employees’ COVID-related OCBs toward their coworkers (OCB-Is) and organizations (OCB-Os). The mediating role of organizational identification and pride was also tested through the social identity theory perspective. A 2 (high vs. low external CSR) by 2 (high vs. low internal CSR) between-subjects design was adopted, in which participants read vignettes describing hypothetical companies displaying different levels of COVID-specific internal and external CSR, rated their identification and pride towards the companies, and reported their likelihood of engaging in OCB-Is and OCB-Os. Data were collected from 186 participants recruited from Baruch College’s SONA participant pool, who were randomly assigned to one of the 4 experimental groups. Results indicated that only external COVID-specific CSR had a significant positive effect on participants’ likelihood to engage in COVID-related OCB-Is and OCB-Os. External and internal COVID-specific CSR significantly affected participants’ identification and pride, and identification and pride were significantly related to both COVID-related OCB-Is and OCB-Os. These findings elucidate the need for more research to understand how CSR during crises impacts workers’ OCBs and if companies would benefit more from enhancing their workforce’s identification and pride.
Recommended Citation
Shultz, E. Paisley, "The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic" (2023). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bb_etds/159